Israel’s Population Rises to 7.8 Million
Israel’s population stands at 7.836 million, the Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) indicated on Thursday as part of its year-end survey.
According to the ICBS report, Jews comprise 75.3 percent of the country’s population, with 5.901 million people, with Arab citizens making up another 20.5 percent, or 1.610 million.
Another 4.2 percent of Israel’s population, some 325,000 people, is comprised by non-Arab Christians and those whom the Interior Ministry doesn’t classified by religion.
The survey also indicated that 2011 saw a 1.8 percent increase in Israel’s population – 141,000 people – a rate comparable to the figures of the last decade.
In Israel, 166,800 new babies were born throughout the course of the year, and about 17,500 new immigrants arrived at the country.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief